1. Field of the Invention
The present invention deals with the field of head-of-wall top track gasket members for providing acoustic and firestopping insulation between the upper edge of floors and the ceilings located immediately thereabove. Many attempts have been made to seal between a room ceiling and a wall construction therebelow, however it is rather difficult because of irregular surfaces against which the seal needs to be made and because in some situations effective acoustic sealing may require somewhat different materials and constructions than the firestopping sealing designs. The present invention integrates insulating material for achieving both acoustic and firestopping sealing simultaneously in a head-of-wall area between the top track above a wall construction and the undersurface of the floor thereabove.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various constructions have been shown for the purposes of head-of-wall firestopping insulations such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,702 issued Apr. 30, 1991 to T. L. Daw et al and assigned to Daw Technologies, Inc. on a “Modular Wall System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,203 issued Jul. 7, 1992 to R. F. Paquette on a “Seismic/Fire Retardant Wall Structure And Method”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,066 issued May 26, 1998 to D. W. Becker on a “Slip Track Assembly”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,788 issued Jun. 22, 1999 to T. R. Herren on a “Fire Blocking And Seismic Resistant Wall Structure”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,041 issued Jul. 13, 1999 to J. D. Egri, II on a “Bottom Track For Wall Assembly”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,385 issued Sep. 14, 1999 to T. R. Herren on an “Interior Shaft Wall Construction”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,668 issued May 9, 2000 to T. R. Herren on a “Seismic And Fire-Resistant Head-Of-Wall Structure”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,053 issued Jan. 23, 2001 to R. C. A. St. Germain and assigned to Roger C. A. St. Germain on a “Wall Track Assembly And Method For Installing The Same”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,043,880 issued May 16, 2006 to M. D. Morgan et al and assigned to W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. on “In Situ Molded Thermal Barriers”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,385 issued Dec. 26, 2006 to M. D. Morgan et al and assigned to W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. on “In Situ Molded Thermal Barriers”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,240,905 issued Jul. 10, 2007 to J. P. Stahl, Sr. and assigned to Specified Technologies Inc. on a “Method And Apparatus For Sealing A Joint Gap Between Two Independently Movable Suuctural Substrates”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,617,643 issued Nov. 17, 2009 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Fire-Ratted Wall Construction Product”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,681,365 issued Mar. 23, 2010 to J. A. Klein on a “Head-Of-Wall Fireblock Systems And Related Wall Assemblies”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,752,817 issued Jul. 13, 2010 to D. A Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Two-Piece Track System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,814,718 issued Oct. 19, 2010 to J. A. Klein on “Head-Of-Wall Fireblocks”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,866,108 issued Jan. 11, 2011 to J. A. Klein on “Head-Of-Wall Fireblock Systems And Related Wall Assemblies”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,950,198 issued May 31, 2011 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Fire-Rated Wall Construction Product”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,056,293 issued Nov. 15, 2011 to J. A. Klein on “Head-Of-Wall Fireblock Systems And Related Wall Assemblies”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,087,205 issued Jan. 2, 2012 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Fire-Rated Wall Construction Product”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,132,376 issued Mar. 13, 2012 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Two-Piece Track System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,1811,404 issued May 22, 2012 to J. A. Klein on “Head-Of-Wall Fireblocks And Related Wall Assemblies”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,281,552 issued Oct. 9, 2012 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on an “Exterior Wall Construction Product”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,298,967 issued Oct. 30, 2012 to W. F. Egan et al and assigned to BASF Corporation on an “Exterior Finishing System And Building Wall Containing A Corrosion-Resistant Enhanced Thickness Fabric”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,316,605 issued Nov. 27, 2012 to C. Oberg on an “Insulated Metal Roofing And Wall Systems And Related Methods”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,499,512 issued Aug. 6, 2013 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on an “Exterior Wall Construction Product”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,555,566 issued Oct. 15, 2013 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Two-Piece Track System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,590,231 issued Nov. 26, 2013 to D. A. Pilz and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on “Fire-Rated Joint System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,595,999 issued Dec. 3, 2013 to D. A. Pilze et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Fire-Rated Joint System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,640,415 issued Feb. 4, 2014 to D. A. Pilze et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Fire-Rated Wall Construction Products”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,671,632 issued Mar. 18, 2014 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Wall Gap Fire Block Device, System And Method”; and U.S. Publication No. 2009/0178363 published Jul. 16, 2009 to D. A. Pilz and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Compay on an “Exterior Wall Construction Product”; and U.S. Publication No. 2009/0223159 published Sep. 10, 2009 to M. Colon on a “Firestop Block And Thermal Barrier System For Fluted Metal Decks”; and U.S. Publication No. 2011/0011019 published Jan. 20, 2011 to J. P. Stahl, Jr. et al and assigned to Specified Technologies Inc. on a “Firestopping Sealing Means For Use With Gypsum Wallboard In Head-Of-Wall Construction”; and U.S. Publication No. 2011/0113709 published May 19, 2011 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Wall Gap Fire Block Device, System And Method”; and U.S. Publication No. 2011/0185656 published Aug. 4, 2011 to J. A. Klein on a “Fire Retardant Cover For Fluted Roof Deck”; and U.S. Publication No. 2011/0214371 published Sep. 8, 2011 to J. A. Klein on an “Offset Leg Framing Element For Fire Stop Applications”; and U.S. Publication No. 2011/0247281 published Oct. 13, 2011 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Fire-Rated Wall Construction Product”; and U.S. Publication No. 2013/0008104 published Jan. 10, 2013 to M. Caboni on a “Building Construction For Making Transpirable Walls And Floors”; and U.S. Publication No. 2013/0034683 published Feb. 7, 2013 to H. Kramer et al on a “Foam Insulation Unit”; and U.S. Publication No. 2013/0074432 published Mar. 28, 2013 to R. I. Ciuperca on an “Insulated Concrete Form And Method Of Using Same”.